Peer-to peer wireless Internet Protocol (IP) networks provide mobile peer devices with the capability to discover and utilize various services provided by other peer devices directly including, but not limited to, telephony services similar to those provided by traditional wireless networks such as cellular or land line providers such as the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN). While a service provider may provide overall access to the services over for example, a wireless network infrastructure, functions such as call control are handled by the mobile peer itself and thus there is no need for a traditional switch in such networks.
Unlike peer-to-peer IP networks, cellular networks and PSTNs employ switches, such as a Mobile Switching Centers (MSC) or otherwise some type of network server that acts to establish calls, or other types of network service connections between mobile and/or fixed devices. Billing records, such as Call Detail Records (CDRs) are generated, updated and maintained via the switch or some combination of billing servers along with data produced or received by the switch. Because peer-to-peer IP networking by definition does not require the centrality of a switch or centralized server, there is no inherent billing capability.
Further, basic regulatory requirements for services such as telephony require basic information capture such as, but not limited to; caller-ID, called number, call duration, calling time of day, caller and called party locations, etc., in other words, basic call-logging and call-tracing information, or with respect to IP services, session-logging and session-tracing.